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Norway to send two F-16s to Denmark for Ukrainian pilot training

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Norway to send two F-16s to Denmark for Ukrainian pilot training
A photo of an F-16 for illustration purposes. Photo: JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP

Norway's government said on Wednesday it would send two F-16 fighter jets to Denmark to help train Ukrainian pilots in the use of the planes, which are highly anticipated by Kyiv.

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Last year, Norway, along with countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, that it would be donating F-16s -- that had been retired to be replaced with the more modern F-35 -- to Ukraine.

However, Oslo has yet to announce either the number of F-16s to be donated -- expected to be just a handful -- or a delivery schedule.

"Allied partners and states will work day and night with the goal of establishing a lasting and modern air force for Ukraine," Norway's Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said in a statement.

READ ALSO: Denmark expects to send first F-16s to Ukraine in spring 2024

The Scandinavian country is already supplying training personnel, with around 10 instructors.

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The Norwegian F-16s will be deployed, for an as of yet undetermined period, to the Danish Skrydstrup air base -- where Ukrainian pilots are trained as
part a multinational operation.

In his New Year's address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country's "pilots are already mastering F-16 jets, and we will definitely see them in our skies," as he vowed that Russian forces would feel Ukraine's "wrath" in 2024.

Denmark is likely to be able to deliver the first of the F-16 fighter aircraft pledged for donation to Ukraine in the spring, the Danish government said last October.

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Maryna 🇺🇦 2024/01/05 23:21
Yay Denmark & Norway! Good Job!

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